Streamers, flags and lights add to the visual pollution, but this year the decoration at junctions and important spots in the city have a new ‘organic’ décor to mark Bonalu festivities. Painted in bright yellow and decorated with typical Bonalu designs, the pots at various traffic signals and medians, announced the celebration of Bonalu in Telangana. A pleasant sight to behold, one couldn’t help wonder about the people behind making of these pots? GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar says, “Subtlety was my concern. I was also concerned about not adding to the existing dump created from decorating the city during different festivals. Since the festival gets it name from the pots or the ‘bonal’, I came up with the plan of decorating the city for the festival with a significant symbol. Pots of different sizes and shapes were procured from different potters in the city. Once we decided on the shape and sizes to be used, they were sent for decoration.”
The yellow pots are designed like the traditional bonalu pot. “There are different ways in which every household decorates its pots. We didn’t interfere much with how the painters worked on the design. The idea was to make the pots look colourful, traditional and authentic,” elaborates Somesh Kumar.
Somesh informs that initially, only 120 sets were ordered but finally a total of 200 sets installed in the city. These pots where then filled with sand to keep them steady and were perched in a way toprevent them from rolling over. “Once the festival is over, we will recall the pots and reuse them for other similar occasions where it looks appropriate,” Somesh adds.
